|
Alicia Keys is a singer, songwriter and a nine-time Grammy® winner who has
taken the continent of Africa into her heart in a very big way. Through her
involvement with the organization Keep A Child Alive, Alicia learned that in
some cases an African child who has HIV can be helped with as little as $1 a
day. With the proper medication and treatment, AIDS-infected adults can also
live longer, fuller lives.
After celebrating with patients who have been helped by Keep A Child Alive donations, Alicia visited a family who lives in the slums of Mombasa. Alicia says she was overwhelmed when she met Sudi, a young man who was born with HIV and didn't receive proper medication until he was 14 years old. At 17, Sudi stood less than four feet tall. "Nothing really prepared me for seeing Sudi and seeing his family," she says.
About a week after Alicia left Kenya, Sudi passed away. "If
we knew him when he was 3 and were able to start [treatment], he would still be
alive today," Alicia says. "You can totally turn a person's life around by
providing this medicine. … It's the simplest thing to save a life. Every one,
single person can be a hero for a dollar a day."
Keep Reading
